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NN3 with R1/R10 Lens ring

I have a pre MKII NN3 which I use with a Nikon D7000 and a Nikor 10.5 Fisheye.

The D7000 is heavier than the D80 that I used to use. This additional weight causes the upper arm to sometimes slip downards slightly as the camera is rotated. Is there a way to replace the upper arm of the NN3 with a Quick release clamp and an R1/R10 lens ring/clamp?

You can, but you will still have the weight issue. The camera will still be hanging out in the same position as it was when you had an upper arm. You will not gain anything (weight problem wise) by modfying your NN3 with a ring clamp.

Fanotech does not have a kit for the conversion. You have to cobble together parts from their store and your hardware store to get it done.

Important parts of friction of the upper arm are Number 1, 3, 5. Take this section apart and have a look if you can see some wear in form of "impressions or high glossy wear surfaces". Specially on the knob ring which is in contact to the upper rotator. I would use a 400 grinding paper to make these surfaces a little rough. Specially 1 and 5. Then replace 3 with a new one. You may see a wear out on the outer circle of the old washer caused by the ring surface of the knob. May be you add a second washer as well.

The new knobs (1) on the last model have a special insert to fill the space between the knob and the bolt of the upper rotator to get more friction space. May be you can find a small plastic tube to fill the space to get a bigger area to set pressure to the vertical arm.

I would try this procedure in first case.

I will try my D7000 on my NN3 MKII today and let you know about it. It works with D90: 620g, D7000 690g. Not too much more.

I have a pre MKII NN3 which I use with a Nikon D7000 and a Nikor 10.5 Fisheye.
The D7000 is heavier than the D80 that I used to use. This additional weight causes the upper arm to sometimes slip downards slightly as the camera is rotated.

Because this is an older NN3 the rubber compression washer may need to be replaced if cleaning doesn't work. Depending on how the Nodal Ninja was stored and used directly affects the live span of the rubber. Here in the dry hot desert heat rubber wears more quickly. If you can't find similar sized rubber washer at your local hardware store you can purchase them in our store - http://store.nodalninja.com/products...on-Washer.html

Thank you all for your help. Cleaning the rubber washer stopped the slipping.

Martin Waite

Hey Martin - gee 4 of us jumped in to help resolve issue over tiny part including manufacturer, dstributor and 2 valued members inside of 24 hours. The important thing is we got you back up to speed.
thx
Bill

So, there is no Nodal Ninja adapter for lens ring to NN3? Boy that would be a real nice thing to have.

I'm now the proud owner of a Pentax kx and a Tokina 10-17mm. My first DSLR. I think the NN3 would
be a real nice pano head for that. The new Ultimate is way out of my price range and it's also way
overkill for the small DSLR's -- my small DSLR anyway. The Pentax kx is one of the smallest if not
the smallest DSLR.

The lens ring would be good because then I could rotate the camera to get the 180 diagonal on
the vertical.

Would it really be that hard to build a lens ring adapter for the NN3?

You can cobble one together with off the shelf parts. This should void the warranty.

You will need an R1 pole adapter, the clamp off the R1 (and the two mounting bolts), a 3/8-24 threaded knob (available from many hardware stores), the friction pad between the upper and vertical arm and one of the unused brass detent disks. I put this together when I was first proving out the ring mount concept for a standard pano head.

1) Remove the upper arm. Save the friction washer.
2) You may have to drill a 3/8 hole into the vertical arm. I do not remember exactly. It has been so long since I did this. My original NN3 has been scavanged and modified so much that it no longer functions.
3) Bolt the R10 clamp to the pole adapter using the two screws that held the clamp onto the R10 pano head. The clamp off of the R1 will not work due to othe ridge along the bottom.
4) Place the extra brass detent disk onto the threaded knob. This acts as a large washer. Insert the knob into the vertical rail. Place the friction pad onto the threaded rod. Screw on the pole adapter. You will most likely have to trim down the threaded section of the knob so it will not hit the clamp when you tighten down the knob.

I never said this was pretty. I do not know how well this adaptation fuctions in day to day shooting. I did it just to test the concept. It was a starting point when I was desgining and manufacturing my own pano head. http://www.dlsphoto.net/NadarBracket/NewDesign/1.JPG I am glad to see that Nick has incorporated this feature into the new M1 series. Even though he did not specifically design the M1 with the ring mount in mind, it works due to the modular nature of the pano head.

I'm with you on the design. That's almost what I had spinning in my brain. Except for using a detente disk as a washer. Nice touch. There's a 3/8 to 1/4 adapter that fits into the bottom of the pole adapter -- I think. There is no data on the size of the middle hole.

The pole adapter is the pivotal piece. Now if the pole adapter was grooved on the bottom so that it made a fit to the rail, that would be the solution. Maybe Nick will make some like that? Or just make a square plate with the two holes for the ring clamp.

It was so long ago when I put the pieces together. I do not remember the exact specs.

Nick asked all his dealers about such a kit. The consensus was that there was already too many variations in the NN3/5 line. Adding yet another piece was not too popular.

Anyone with a hack saw, drill press, metric and standard tap can make an adapter block. That would take the place of the pole adapter. As I recall, when you use the pole adapter, the clamp does not end up in the best position, but it does work.

Nick asked all his dealers about such a kit. The consensus was that there was already too many variations in the NN3/5 line. Adding yet another piece was not too popular.

That's an odd response -- "...there's already too much stuff so we don't think adding something that people want would be popular..." And then we got the Ultimate and R1/R10 -- whatever...

Originally Posted by DennisS

Anyone with a hack saw, drill press, metric and standard tap can make an adapter block. That would take the place of the pole adapter. As I recall, when you use the pole adapter, the clamp does not end up in the best position, but it does work.

Yeah, simple tool set -- wish I had them. The drill press is a problem.

The NPP might not be close to the upper pivot because the slot on the upper arm doesn't go close enough to the pivot and with a small lens like the Tokina 10-17mm, the lens ring would be real close to the NPP -- I see it in my head. So a proper ring adapter for the NN3 would be sort of L shaped to put the 1/4 hole back behind the place where the lens ring clamps on the lens. Could be done though with a good tool set.

It was so long ago when I put the pieces together. I do not remember the exact specs.

Nick asked all his dealers about such a kit. The consensus was that there was already too many variations in the NN3/5 line. Adding yet another piece was not too popular.

Anyone with a hack saw, drill press, metric and standard tap can make an adapter block. That would take the place of the pole adapter. As I recall, when you use the pole adapter, the clamp does not end up in the best position, but it does work.

I may make addon accessories for using lens rings on NN3/5/5L. I am not sure how popular it will be.